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Wilfred Season Finale Review: Will Power

Ryan asked these questions of Wilfred during a fit of hysteria in "Identity," and I for one, cannot wait to find out the answers.

Throughout the season finale, Ryan slipped deeper and deeper down the proverbial slope, to a point where he was back to using dirt to win cases, switching urine to save clients, and basically doing whatever it takes to get the job done.

What did it cost him? Well, he forced his pregnant sister to leave her husband and move to India. He pushed Jenna to marry Drew, because she believes that she has a baby on the way. And he caused his pal Wilfred to jump in front of a moving car, which severely injured him, and might have rid him of his memories.

But after Wilfred's fit of amnesia, be it real or artificial, Ryan remembered that the dog was recently writing a will that could help Ryan know what to do if anything happens to [him].

I was expecting the will to be a joke by Wilfred, saying something to the effect of I can't believe you thought I lost my memory, but instead, when Ryan got to the door of his beloved basement, he found a closet! The basement that he has been hanging out with Wilfred in for the entire season has been imaginary? Is that what we are being ed to believe?

It was pure cojones by the writing staff to come up with that development. I mean, who ends a season of a comedy like that? Wilfred does, and it was brilliant. There can't be any sort of finality to what exactly this hallucination is until the series ends, but the continuing feeling that we might find out keeps the audience on its feet.

That makes Wilfred different from any other sitcom on television, and yes this is a straight-up comedy. It's not like Louie or any of the Showtime dramedies, where it is up for debate on how to categorize them. Wilfred is hilarious week in and week out, it just so happens that along with being funny, it is also very strange, and really makes you think. That was no different in "Identity."

When you have Wilfred drinking bong water like it is coffee, being distracted by bubbles three times in four minutes, and really wanting to go to India after hearing about the dirt, feces, and decaying animals, you have a recipe for hilarity.

Does there need to be growth from some of the characters as season two moves forward? Absolutely, but we've seen some of that already. Wilfred, be he real, a part of Ryan's mind, or something else entirely, has had moments of sincerity during the first season, and I see that continuing next year. Will Ryan continue to improve? Probably, but it won't be a quick process or there wouldn't be a show left to put on the air.

Wilfred is a series about Ryan's problems, and the fact that those problems lead to him seeing this dog as a man. That leads to hilarious hijinks week after week, and it has certainly been a funny first 13 episodes.Bring on the next 13.

Now, after checking out some of our favorite Wilfred quotes from "Identity" below, let us know what you thought of the finale.

Wilfred: After I'm gone I don't want you and Bear fighting over my s**t...or any of my other stuff. | permalink

Wilfred: Come on Ryan! These are big existential questions, best left for boring Russian novelists and teenagers on acid. Real people don't think about this s**t! | permalink

Wilfred: Jenna's not a meat-lover's pizza I can have delivered in 30 minutes or less. Hey! You know what sounds good right now? Chinese. | permalink

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Joe Mamma•September 14, 2011 00:21

This is one of the few shows that does not require peanut butter to keep me coming back for more.

joe•September 12, 2011 07:04

Ah, Wilfred is such a great show.. And I love everyone's comments about the ending, it has me wondering whats going to happen next.. But does anyone know when the next season will start? I'm hoping it will very soon..!

Dan•September 11, 2011 00:36

I feel like next season, Ryan will move again, and this will all kind of start over. I think that Wilfred will be in the place of a different dog, and have the same effect on Ryan, it will be Wilfred to him, but really it will be another dog

Thanks Tina! I hadn't noticed all of those clues that Ryan never had a basement. I'm glad I didn't though, because it was a nice surprise.

Tina•September 10, 2011 03:31

The ending had been foreshadowed throughout. Any Californian would immediately have realized his Venice Beach home would not have a basement! And his sister even questioned him before her party, "You have a basement?" The Jungian basement is referred to in discussions of schizophrenia- the subconscious below breaking through to the conscious mind of the main floors. Clearly, Ryan imposed a split of his self in his prior life as an attorney, keeping one file of the solid legal case, and a second "black" file of dirt. He was even called archeologist-- another reference to what lies beneath.

ceastar•September 09, 2011 23:20

omg-what is going on? the ending left us hanging with so many questions! Cant wait till next season to see what will happen next...is Ryan in limbo or in a coma from taking the pills...and the last episode will be him waking up and seeing a real dog named wilfred instead of a man in a dog suit...or does he come to from suside attempt and find none of want he thought happened ever really happened...so many ways to continue this! Agh ist maddening!

Owen•September 09, 2011 07:23

Amazing ending to an amazing season! Things got so twisted up and Ryan said it at the start of the show about his life pre Wilfred. "Once things start to go bad, they just keep going." Or something to that effect. It'll be interesting to see how all this is addressed in the next season which can't come soon enough.

PapaPhewPills•September 09, 2011 06:44

wilfred is one of the best tv shows ive seen! throughout the episode i kept wondering if it was real or was it a dream or a joke by wilfred but after wilfred getting hit, jenna thinking she pregnant and ryan's sister leaving her husband i cant wait for season 2

Giovanny A.•September 09, 2011 04:48

Amazing show.. I won't b able to sleep w/ an ending like this,, #1 show